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Seatbelts RFC WW1 and Seatbelts German WW1 - 1:32 Eduard


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Seatbelts RFC WW1 (32857)
and
Seatbelts German WW1 (32858)


1:32 Eduard pre-painted Etched brass.

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The last 10 years has seen a big rise in interest in Great war aviation modelling, particularly in 1:32 scale. There are the beautiful Wingnut Wings kits, and others from Roden, Special Hobby, and Academy. With their large scale open cockpits, seatbelts are a necessity, and both Wingnut Wings and Special Hobby supply them as unpainted etched brass items in their kits.

However, painting them is not every ones favourite task, and one look at these will convince most modellers not to even try, but just buy a set. The detail on them is way beyond what anyone could expect to paint by hand, with miniature stitching in perfect patterns.

Seatbelts RFC WW1 (32857)

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Two complete sets are provided to make each of the 'Early' and 'Late' versions, the differences being in the lap belts. The buckles are offered as separate items to be threaded on to the 'fabric' sections, and several overlapping straps are attached, along with individual metal plates. All of which makes for a finer representation than other types of etched seatbelts that are 'all in one' .

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This type of Sutton harness is particularly applicable to the Sopwith Camel and may also have been fitted to SE5.a's, Pups, and other types according to pilot preference. It was a late war design so checking of references for particular aircraft is recommended. It would also have been used extensively post war, as it was a superior design to the 'lap only' belts in use during most of the great war. With Wingnut Wings Camel due to be released at some time this year (we hope!) this set is very welcome.


Seatbelts German WW1 (32858)

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No less than five complete sets of belts are offered here, and like the RFC set above, the buckles are separate parts to be threaded on. The painting is superb, and really needs to be looked at under a magnifying glass to appreciate how good it is. Most of the belts are the 'lap' type that secured around the pilots waist without any shoulder straps. Each of them is in a different colour, with linen, tan, red and dark brown.

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One complete four point harness is provided, of the type typically fitted to Albatros and Pfalz fighters. The other 'lap' seatbelts in the set will be suitable for the Albatros CIII, Hannover CL.III, amongst many multi seaters, plus various Fokker and Aviatik machines.


Conclusion

Both of these sets are well worth having and provide a far superior result than can possibly be obtained by hand painting. They will anyway be essential for Roden and Academy kits as no seatbelts at all come with these kits.

It will be a great idea to pose the shoulder straps of the four point sets hanging outside the cockpit, ready for the pilot to clamber in. This can frequently be seen in period photographs, and will show these lovely belts off to advantage.

RFC

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German

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Review sample courtesy of logo.gif

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